Demons (Eirik Book 1) (27 page)

I smirked.

She elbowed me. “Pervert. Put your cockiness aside and let me help you with something I’m good at before your mother learns you can’t do it yourself. You heard her. She hates liars and the weak. Imagine what she’ll do to you once she learns you have no ability to create something as simple as fire.”

I grinned. Her concern for me was sweet and misplaced. I loved it.

“This must be what you-know-who in the cave meant. Master fire spells and I might make it home. She must have the power of premonition or something and have seen this… this ridiculous plan of your mother’s. Who throws her son in that den of thieves and gangbangers?” Her voice rose with each word. “You are not invincible.”

“Okay, Dimples. You win. You can teach me fire magic. But first, we eat. I’m starving.”

“You are always starving,” she griped.

“Blame her. She starved me for a week.”

The spectators below finally saw my mother and went crazy, yelling and waving. Chances were they’d never met her, but no one could confuse her for anyone else but the goddess. It wasn’t just the guards, the runes, and the scepter. It was the way she carried herself. Now that they had her attention, the fighters tried to impress her.

Even though her eyes were on the fight below, Mother was aware of everything Celestia and I were doing. Our eyes met before we reached her side.

“Impressive, aren’t they?” she asked, smiling.

They were. “Do they have a trainer or a referee to regulate their fights, or do they just kill each other until the last man or woman is left standing?”

“Of course, they have trainers.” She pointed them out. “Is tomorrow too soon for you to join them?”

Was she serious? I wasn’t ready. “Not soon enough. Did you say only fire could kill them?”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t chance it.”

“Ah, but you are not me, Mother, are you? If I’m going against them, I’m using the arsenal at my disposal. Thanks for showing us around.”

She was frowning. Ten-to-one, she knew I meant to use my dragon. A portal opened and she disappeared through it, her guards following as though tethered to her. Celestia’s two stayed with us. Once again, my eyes were drawn to the ragtag warriors under the bridge.

Some of their moves were freaking awesome. Learning them was going to be fun. I made the mistake of looking at Celestia. She kept wincing as she watched the fighters, her expression horrified.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

“You’re not really going to fight these people, are you?” she asked, her eyes searching my face.

“Train with them, Dimples. Not the same thing.” Hoping to distract her, I went back and picked up her sketchbook. “So, what were you sketching earlier that you couldn’t watch me kick ass?”

She dragged her eyes from the scene. “You had the whole gym rooting for…” Her voice trailed off when she realized I had her pad. She tried to snatch it from my fingers, but I lifted it out of her range. “Eirik.”

“Did you sketch me again?”

“No, I didn’t.” She grabbed my shirt and reached for it.

I caught her around her waist, lifted her off the floor, and smirked. I loved the feel of her against me. She was soft and tiny. I could carry her around the whole day and not break a sweat.

“That’s my personal property, and you need to respect my boundaries.”

I wiggled my eyebrows. “I’ll give it back if you give me a kiss.”

She froze, eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. For one brief moment, I thought she would accept the challenge. Then she stepped back and extended her right hand toward me, her mouth moving silently.

“What are you doing? Celestia?” The book flew from my hand.

She caught it with her left and grinned. “Don’t piss off a Witch who knows all your secrets, Eirik Baldurson. Your runes can’t save you from me. Sit!”

I didn’t realize what she meant until she lowered her hand and the ground rushed to meet me. I barely managed to engage my runes and twist before the impact. The runes cushioned my fall. I stayed on the floor, laughing.

“You are a mean Witch, Celestia Devereaux.”

“I learned that from Kagome,” she bragged. “Next time, your runes won’t save you. What are you doing?”

The panic in her voice had me glancing her way. The guards were pointing their weapons at her. “Hey. Back off! Get away from her.”

“But she—”

“Did nothing, Creed,” I snapped, engaging my speed runes and jumping to my feet. “Don’t ever point your weapons at her. Are you okay?”

“I am, but I don’t think they are.” She pointed at the guards.

I turned to find the two guards peeling themselves up from the floor. I must have pushed them aside without even realizing it. I waited until they were back on their feet.

“I don’t care what she does,” I told them. “You don’t touch her. You do and you answer to me.”

They bowed and said, “Yes, Baldurson.”

“Leave us,” I added. Uncertainty flickered in their eyes. They were caught between obeying Mother and obeying me. “We are going back to my quarters. Tell Litr we’ll need lunch.”

EIRIK

Food was waiting for us when we arrived back at my quarters. Steak sandwiches on croissant-like bread, soups, and a large platter of fruit. I took a quick shower, changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then joined Celestia. She’d refused to start without me and was sketching. I might have said she was a mean Witch, but I couldn’t be farther from the truth. She was too tenderhearted and the sooner I sent her home the better.

“Come on. Let’s eat, so we can practice your fire spell and I can go home,” Celestia said.

“I still say you should possess me. It’s snowing too hard to brave it today. It would take days to scout the cave and outsmart the giantess at the gates and Garm,” I teased.

Her eyes narrowed. “What giantess? And what is Garm?”

“The fiercest giantess in all the realms. She doesn’t let anyone enter the gates of Hel and no one ever leaves without her permission.” That was an exaggeration. Modgie, Trudy’s older sister, was really nice. “And Garm is my mother’s hound. He has six eyes, dripping fangs, and swallows souls for fun. No one can control him except the giantess.”
And me.
“So yes, I’ll need to find a way to fool those two to make it to the portal. Or bribe them.” Celestia was chewing her lower lip by the time I finished and I felt bad for exaggerating, but her eagerness to leave bugged the crap out of me. “So we work on possession?”

“Ew, no. I will never possess you. I’m teaching you fire spells, mister, whether you like it or not. It is easier to master and I can be home in less than an hour.” She looked around. “It would be disastrous to do it here. Let’s use our old room.”

Our old room.
I liked how she’d worded that. “Fine.”

“Or outside so I can see this giantess and the hound with six eyes.” The way she said it meant she hadn’t believed me.

“It’s still snowing.”

“Oh yeah. Forgot about that.” She went back to her food. After two bites of her sandwich, she looked up. “About Rhys—”

“Not another word. Eat.”

She ignored me. “I’m going home soon and I don’t want to forget anything. Tell him the truth because next time I see him, I don’t want to explain.”

The idea that she would be seeing Rhys annoyed me. “He doesn’t need to know anything. If you ever see him again, ignore him.”

She laughed. “Yeah, right. He’s kind of hard to ignore.”

“Why?” Man, I couldn’t believe I was jealous of that walking ad for tattoos. Her faceless boyfriend, yes. Rhys, no freaking way. She studied me intently, then went back to her food. Now I felt like an idiot. “Fine. I’ll tell him. Are you going to see Trudy before you leave?”

“Yes, or she’ll never forgive me.”

“Are you going to tell her the truth?”

“No.” Then she sighed. “Maybe. She already suspected anyway.”

My mother already knew, so Trudy was bound to find out. We ate the meal in silence. I tried to imagine Hel’s Hall without Celestia and couldn’t. I rubbed my chest, trying to ease the tension there. Maybe I’d visit her in Windfall, Louisiana.

“How far is Windfall from New Orleans?”

Celestia smiled as though I’d said something funny. Her eyes grew luminous and that dimpled smile packed quite a punch.

“We are right across the lake from New Orleans. On the other side of Twin Span bridge. Why?”

“It’s nothing.” I stole a piece of sandwich from her plate. I loved watching her eat.  She held a sandwich with both hands and took dainty bites. It was cute. She pushed her plate toward me and I demolished the rest of her lunch.

She piled the plates on a tray and stacked them on the cart. “Do you want more food?”

“Yeah. No. I don’t know.” I was restless and I couldn’t explain why. “Do you want something else to drink or eat?” The pitcher with apple juice was still half-full. “Do you want me to get Trudy?”

“You don’t have to. She’s a portal away. Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” No, I wasn’t. I jumped up. “I’ll get her. I need to walk off lunch. Meet me downstairs in an hour. No, two hours.”

“I thought we were doing the spells now.”

“They can wait,” I growled. Her expression showed confusion, and I couldn’t explain what was bugging me because I had no idea.

Thoroughly annoyed, I left the room and headed to my parents’ quarters. It was weird that Celestia had no problem creating portals while I was uncomfortable with it. Maybe it was the fact that magic was pretty new to me. My parents were having lunch. Same sandwiches and soup. My mother lifted her eyebrows in question, but didn’t speak.

“What’s going on, Son?” Father asked.

“Where’s Trudy?”

“I assume with her mother. Join us.” He pointed at a chair. “Litr can find her.”

The Dwarf entered the room.

“No, Litr. I’ll find her myself.” I needed to clear my head.

“What’s wrong with him?” I heard Father ask, but I didn’t catch Mother’s response. I was already leaving the room.

I left for the rotunda and turned left. I was halfway to the kitchen when it hit me. I didn’t want Celestia to leave. I knew she had to, but I didn’t want her to go. Every time she left, I’d felt terrible, bereft, like some vital part of me was missing, and the feeling had only gotten worse. She’d become part of my life here. A crucial part, whatever that meant.

I entered Grimnirs Hall. As usual it was packed. I knew they worked twenty-four seven and came from all over the realms, so the kitchen must have been open all the time and the staff cooked in shifts.

I stopped in front of the long, service window when I realized silence had replaced the voices. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Rhys and his partner, Nara, standing. They started to clap. The rest of the Grimnirs banged their tumblers on the table and stomped their feet. I had no idea what was going on.

Rhys joined me and slapped my back. “Congratulations. You passed the initiation.”

“What initiation?”

“Everyone who joins us must survive a beat down by older members. You managed to snap Sergio’s neck”—he waved toward the Russian, who bowed—“and almost got the best of Jeff. He is our best fighter.”

At one time I would have cared because Jeff was a mean fighter, but I just wanted to talk to Rhys privately. “Do you have a moment?”

“Sure.” He glanced at Nara. “Let me talk to my partner.”

While he went to square things with Nara, I spoke with Maera who promised to tell Trudy Celestia wanted to see her. Rhys and I left their dining hall and headed toward the front hall.

“I want you to do me a favor,” I started. “It involves the girl you saw earlier.”

“The soul who supposedly escaped from one of the halls?” he asked.

I chuckled. “Yes, that one. And no, Celestia did not escape from a hall. She’s from Earth.”

Rhys chuckled. “I knew it. Nara didn’t believe me, but I knew it. She talks. Other than Immortals, the souls who can talk right after death are usually Witches, and those souls don’t come here. The Norns snatch them up like scavengers. Or they grab them before they draw their last breath and replace them with cadavers. Is she a Witch or an Immortal?”

“A Witch.” We reached the hallway leading to the east dungeon. Funny how every time I needed to be alone, I always headed to my old rooms. “What I’m about to tell you cannot be shared with anyone.”

“Sorry, man. I don’t keep secrets from my partner. She’s my cousin.”

From his expression, he was serious. “Okay. Fine. You can tell her, but I’ll hold you accountable if she tells anyone.”

“Deal.”

We entered the tunnel. “Her name is Celestia Devereaux, and she’s a clairvoyant with astral projection abilities. She astral projected here.”

“Damn. She must be powerful to cross the realms. Wait.” He stopped. “You didn’t tell her that her friend and her mother are Immortals?”

“No. Does it matter? She came here and now she’s going home. If your paths ever cross, you two have never met.” I continued walking.

“Eirik…”

“I know there are rules in place about what Immortals can and cannot tell Mortals, Rhys. That’s why I didn’t tell her and why you need to stay away from Windfall. Let someone else reap that area. One more thing. How did Maliina escape this realm?”

“That bitch possessed one of the Grimnirs. The girl is still recovering. When I catch up with Maliina…” His expression said she’d be sorry. “Why?”

“If Celestia can’t astral project home, I may have to let her possess me so I can take her through the portal. What?” I asked when he shook his head.

“Your parents are not going to let that happen, man. Possession without the right runes messes you up.”

“I don’t care about me. I’ll heal. I’m more concerned about her. She’s tried to leave and each time she ended up in a cave here in Hel. She wants to go home, and I promised I’d get her there. Possession is my backup plan.”

“You’ll have to etch the right runes on her, just like Maliina did on Echo’s girl back in Kayville. The same runes made it possible for Maliina to hijack Madeleine’s body. Madeleine is still suffering the aftereffects because she didn’t have the right runes.”

That was messed up. I would never put Celestia through what happened to Cora. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Thanks for the info.”

Now, I really needed to let off steam. I continued on down the tunnel, then downstairs. Instead of going to my old room to wait for Celestia, I headed to the weapons room. The room was bigger than the dungeon and the weapons were out of the way.

The change was just as painful as the first time because once again, I hadn’t thought of bringing my artavus to add pain runes. I was going to hide one somewhere. By the time I finished transforming, I had very little space left.

My senses slowly adjusted. I hadn’t given them time to do so before. My eyes focused, my ears picking up the neighs of panicked horses. I wondered if they were reacting to my presence. My father had been sent to Hel with his favorite steed, but my mother must have owned some, too. I studied my feet, the claws jutting from my paws rivaling steak knives. My neck was pretty long and flexible since I could turn and study my back. My wings were definitely not my greatest features. They looked like bat wings and both had a sharp claw at the tip. The sleek spikes sticking along my spine were cool, though. They refracted the light, making them appear multicolored.

Would Celestia think my dragon was cool? She was likely to faint. No, she wasn’t the fainting type. I had no idea what she’d do. My tail was long and thick, and presently squashed against the wall. I needed to stretch, find my footing, and learn to stand. Maybe even fly.

There was very little space to move, but from the corner of one eye, I could see through the window. The snow was still falling, but it had slowed. It covered the giant wall surrounding Eljudnir, until it was impossible to know where the wall and the ground met. I noticed several Grimnirs leaving while others made their way to the gates. I couldn’t see the River Gjöll, but I heard the snakes slithering underneath its surface. I wasn’t sure whether my sense of smell was heightened too, but the overpowering blend of metal, leather, and wood made me twitchy. Even as my mind registered the scents, I caught a whiff of something familiar. My mother’s scent. My father’s. Celestia’s. Were they close by? They must be because I could differentiate them. They could be coming this way.

I had to two choices. Either change back and get dressed, or open the door and leave the room. I wasn’t ready to face them yet and I needed to fly and clear my head. I tried to move my front leg and unlock the door. It was wide enough for me to crawl through, but opening it was next to impossible.

I managed to position my hand, but my claw was too big to lift the bolt. Movements came from outside, and I sighed with relief. I could always count on Mother to appear at my most humiliating moments. The bolts snapped out of place and the door slid open to reveal her, scepter in her hand and cloak dragging on the snow.

“Next time, step outside before you change, Son, or you will bring my castle down,” she reprimanded. “You are a lot bigger than I thought. Too big for indoors.”

“Thanks for stating the obvious, Mother.” At least, that was what I meant to say. It came out snarly and growly.

Mother chuckled. “You are welcome.”

“You heard me?” I asked, the words still animal-like to my ears.

“Your voice is a bit raspy, but you can definitely speak dragon tongue, Son. Slow down and use your vocals instead of your gut. Also, will the words to be English, not animal.”

“Like this?” It still came out in growls and snarls.

“Don’t worry, your speech will improve with time. Come on out,” she added. “Test your wings. Flying is more important than speech.”

I crawled forward because standing wasn’t an option. The ceiling of the room and even the doorframe was high enough for giants, but not for my dragon. She stepped aside to let me through but didn’t seem scared. I focused on clearing the doorway, careful with my wings. They were huge and could easily hit her. Finally, I stood without parts of me touching something. It was exhilarating. I had a serious wingspan.

I lifted my wings and brought them down. Snow blew from the ground. I turned my head and looked at Mother. She didn’t seem bothered she had snow on her gown and cloak. She wore the widest grin I’d ever seem on her face and her eyes shone bright with, I don’t know, pride or tears.